How Close
by Caskett-fan18
Summary: My second Castle story. I was surprised no one else took the ending of 3XK like this  that I have noticed anyway . Well here is my version of the ending of 3XK. Contains minor spoilers. Hope you like it!
1. Chapter 1

_**How Close**_

_Hi, this is my second Castle story. I was surprised no one else took the ending of 3XK like this (that I have noticed anyway). Well here is my version of the ending of 3XK. Minor spoilers. Enjoy!_

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"How close to death do you want to get?" the real Triple Killer, Jerry Tyson, said to Castle. A light buzzing noise sounds from the table, Castle's phone. "Don't say anything you shouldn't." Tyson says as he picks up the phone and aims his gun at the writer.

After talking with Martha and ending the call with an "I love you", the killer hangs up the phone. "Well I don't think there's any more you want to say" he says as he cocks his gun, takes aim, and shoots Castle.

Pain explodes throughout his chest as the bullet enters his body. The force of the bullet sends Castle back and the chair falls over. He lays there struggling to breathe as blood flows out of his chest.

Then Jerry Tyson leaves the motel room with Castle on the floor bleeding and still tied to the chair, and Ryan on the floor unconscious.

Soon after the Triple Killer leaves, Castle faintly hears the sounds of sirens. He his trying so hard to stay awake and away from the black that is trying to consume him. The door bangs open and it's Beckett, yelling "Castle!"

She scans the room and sees Castle on the ground, surrounded in blood. "No!" she yells. Esposito is not far behind her and he runs over to his partner, who is now waking up. Beckett unties Castle from the chair and lays him flat on his back, both hands on his chest as she tries to stop the bleeding. She vaguely hears Esposito telling her that an ambulance is on the way.

"Come on Castle, stay with me!" she yells at him as she's putting as much pressure as she can on his chest. He looks at her and tries to reach for her but his arms feel like lead, and he can't move them.

The paramedics arrive and they try to move Beckett but she won't move from keeping pressure on Castle's chest.

"Come on Beckett, you got to move so they can help him" Esposito said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She moves aside and watches as the paramedics work on Castle and quickly get him on a stretcher and out the door. Beckett quickly follows them and at the ambulance she is stopped, "I want to go with him." She says to the EMT. He shook his head and said "Sorry, there is no room in here" and closes the door. Kate watches as the ambulance speeds away, with Castle hanging onto life inside.

* * *

When they arrive at the hospital they ask for where Richard Castle went. They were told that he was rushed into surgery but a doctor would be out to update them. Ryan and Esposito start heading towards the waiting area but Beckett pulls out her phone and says, "I should call Martha and tell her what happened." The guys nod as she goes to a secluded corner and calls Castle's mother.

"Kate!" Martha says after the first ring. "Is he alright?" She asks. Beckett pauses, unsure of how to word it. "Kate?" Martha says with desperation. "What happened?"

"He got shot" Beckett said after finally finding her voice. "We are at the hospital now. He just got rushed into surgery."

"Oh God" Martha says. "How bad?"

"I don't know the details but he was shot in the chest and I don't know how much blood he lost at the scene."

"Ok. Alexis and I will be there as soon as we can."

"Do you want Esposito to come and get you?"

"No we will just take a taxi."

"Ok, see you soon."

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_**What do you think? Should I continue? Let me know! Reviews and comments are appreciated! Thanks!**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**How Close-Chapter 2**_

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**Thanks so much for the reviews! I was shocked when I checked my email this afternoon and saw so many notifications for this story. Thank you! Here is chapter two! Hope you like it :-)**

About 15 minutes after Beckett ended her call, she heard someone yell out "Kate!" She turned and saw Alexis and Martha walking quickly towards them. "Where's my dad? Is he ok?" Kate looks at Martha who shook her head, meaning that she hasn't completely told Alexis what happened.

Kate brought Alexis over to the chairs and they sat down. "Your father and Ryan were meeting up with someone who we thought would help us find the man who killed our most recent victims. Your dad figured out at the last moment that he was the killer. Before they could react, the killer, named Tyson, knocked out Ryan and tied your dad to a chair. He then shot your father." At this Alexis' eyes got wide and soon started filling up with tears. She looks at her grandmother who also had tears forming.

"Is he going to make it?" Alexis said, turning back to Beckett.

"We haven't heard back from the doctors yet, but he lost a lot of blood at the scene."

Alexis just nods and then leans her head on Beckett's shoulder, silently crying.

* * *

Around an hour later a doctor comes into the waiting room, "Richard Castle's family?" Everyone looks up and Martha, Alexis and, holding Alexis' hand, Beckett, walk over to the doctor.

"How is he?" Martha asks when she approaches him.

"We were able to remove the bullet which was lodged in Mr. Castle's ribcage near his heart and lungs. We have stopped all the bleeding in his chest." The doctor pauses and looks at Beckett. "I was informed that you had found Mr. Castle tied to a chair but tipped over?" Beckett nods, remembering how she found Castle. The doctor nods and continues, "He had hit his head pretty hard when he fell over, and that has made his brain swell."

"What does that mean?" Alexis says.

"Currently Mr. Castle is in a coma, due to the blunt force trauma to his head. We are unsure when, or if, he will wake up."

"Can we see him?" Martha asks.

"Yes, we will be moving him to a VIP room where he won't be bothered by press and other fans. I will send a nurse out when we move him. But there can only be up to three at a time please." The three of them nod, and the doctor walks back behind the 'Authorized Personnel Only' doors.

* * *

A nurse comes out and leads Beckett, Alexis and Martha towards the ICU. They enter and are lead to a room in a far corner.

They are ushered inside and there was Castle, laying still on the hospital bed, looking almost as white as the sheets and walls surrounding him. He was hooked up to many machines and IVs, giving him blood and nutrients as well as one that is giving him medication to help relieve the swelling in his brain. There were machines monitoring his heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen. The only sound in the room were the steady beeps of the machines, and Castle's slow rhythmic breathing.

"Richard" Martha whispers as she goes over to the bed. Beckett and Alexis follow going around to the other side of the bed. Martha and Alexis each carefully clasp one of Castle's hands in their own, and Beckett just puts a gentle hand on one of his blanket covered legs.

"Why would that guy do this to him? Why did he try to kill my dad?" Alexis asks, looking over at Beckett. Kate pauses before replying, thinking about it.

"I don't think Tyson liked that your father figured out who he really was. He was probably planning on continuing killing in the shadows after his copycat went down as the Triple Killer. And if your father lives, and Tyson finds out, Castle will probably feel like he's being punished because he couldn't stop him." Beckett explains.

Beckett looks down at Castle and then squeezes Alexis' shoulder, and then left the room, leaving Castle with his mother and daughter. She goes back over to Ryan and Esposito and tells them " I want someone watching them at all times. I want someone stationed outside their loft and someone to keep an eye on Alexis while she is at school. I don't want Tyson to get to them while Castle can't do anything about it."

"You got it boss." Ryan says and Esposito nods. They both walk out the door, pulling out their phones along the way.

When they are gone, Kate silently sinks into one of the chairs and puts her head in her hands. She lets loose the barriers and the tears start flowing freely from her eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, sorry I haven't updated in over a week. My laptop got a huge virus on it and I had to give it to my coworker to fix. To make up for it here are two long chapters for you! Enjoy!

The next day Beckett is found arriving at the hospital as soon as her shift was over. She spent all day trying to track down Jerry Tyson. After a long tiring day she goes over to the hospital.

Castle is still in a coma, laying still in the hospital bed, with Alexis beside him, holding his hand.

"Hey Alexis," Beckett says when she enters the room. "How is he doing?"

"I don't know," she replies. "He hasn't moved or done anything. But he is still breathing so I guess that's good."

Beckett nods and moves a chair over to the other side of the bed.

"I'll be back shortly, I'm going to go down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Do you want anything?" Alexis asks, standing up.

"No I'm good. I ate on my way over here. Thanks though."

"No problem." Alexis says, smiling slightly and leaves the room.

Beckett sits in the chair and grabs Castle's hand. She looks upon his pale face and whispers "I'm sorry Castle. I'm sorry I didn't figure it out quicker. If only we had gotten there sooner we would have been able to catch the son of a bitch before he shot you. I'm so sorry." By now her lower lip was quivering and she lowers her head onto their clasped hands as tears start forming in her eyes. She tries pulling it together but more tears start flowing down her cheeks.

Beckett thinks about what has happened in the last 24 hours. The man they thought was the Triple Killer's cellmate, ends up being the actual Triple Killer. Ryan and Castle go over to the motel to tell Tyson that they had Gates and his girlfriend was ok. What happened at the motel she only knows about what happened up until Tyson knocked out Ryan, and what she found at the scene. Castle was most likely tied to the chair when Martha called. The last words he spoke to her before the call was ended was "I love you" and that got Martha worried and she called her. Beckett and Esposito run out to their cars and get to the scene as quickly as they could, with Esposito calling for backup.

Beckett remembers what she felt like on the way to the scene. What if they were too late? What if Castle and Ryan were dead? She didn't know what she would do if she entered that room and found two of her partners dead. Wait a minute, _partners?_ Thinking back on it, Castle _is_ her partner, not that she would ever admit it, not yet anyway.

A soft hand touches her shoulder and Beckett looks up to see Martha looking down at her. Martha leans down and gently pulls Beckett into a hug as her tears slowly come to an end. Martha rubs her back and Beckett wipes her eyes as she pulls away from Martha.

"You doing alright kiddo?" Martha asks.

Beckett was going to say she was fine but after what Martha witnessed she probably wouldn't be able to get by with that answer. So she shook her head and said, "I feel so guilty. If only we had gotten their sooner..."

"He still would have been shot" Martha interrupts. You had no reason to believe that that guy was the real killer until they didn't return. It's not your fault."

"But you must blame me for getting him into this..." Beckett tries but Martha interrupts again.

"If I blamed you or if I was mad at you do you think we would be talking like this right now? If I was mad or if I blamed you for what happened I wouldn't let you even inside this room right now."

* * *

Beckett nods and looks over at Castle, almost expecting him to be awake and grinning at her, but he was still unconscious.

Later that night Beckett arrives at her apartment and collapses on her couch. After a long stressful day she just wants to relax. Her phone suddenly starts buzzing in her pocket, signaling she has a new text message. She takes it out and looks at it, it's from Josh.

_'Hey I'm free, do you want to meet up somewhere?'_

She replies: _'No, sorry, long day. Going to bed soon.'_

A few minutes later her phone starts buzzing again: _'OK. How about tomorrow?'_

She responds: _'I don't know. I have a lot of things going on. I'll try.'_

_'OK. Talk to you later.'_

Beckett puts her phone down and sighs. She was tired. She knows she should take advantage of whenever Josh was free since there were very few times that they were both available, but at that moment she only wanted the company of one person, and he currently was at the hospital in a coma.


	4. Chapter 4

How Close Chapter 4

Beckett enters the 12th precinct the next day and goes up to Ryan and Esposito. "Any update on finding Tyson?" she asks them. They shake their heads, "No but we have his account blocked and uniforms at every exit to the city, at the train stations and at the airport. He's not leaving the city. We will get him. No one shoots one of us and gets away with it." Esposito says and Ryan nods.

Beckett smiles slightly and heads over to her desk. She checks with the under covers keeping an eye on Martha and Alexis and find out there has been no unusual activity regarding them and Tyson, or anyone else working with Tyson that may want to target them as well.

Pausing from her work she glances over at the chair next to her desk, Castle's chair. The precinct, though full of people, felt empty to her because Castle wasn't there spinning off yet another one of his crazy theories. She realizes then that she cares about Castle a lot more than she planned too.

She looks up at the murder board, trying to figure out where Tyson would go. If he couldn't leave the city, and he couldn't take money out of his account, he would most likely go to someone that he trusted either to hole up where they live or borrow money from them.

"Ryan. Look up all of Tyson's friends before he went to jail and those he kept in contact with while he was there. And check on his girlfriend as well. I want to find him." Ryan nods and turns to his computer.

Around six o'clock Beckett sighs and tells the boys she's going to the hospital to check on Castle. "Call me if you guys find anything."

"Will do" they said in unison. And Beckett grabs her coat and heads out the door.

* * *

Beckett arrives at the hospital just as her phone starts ringing. "Beckett" she answers. "Hey Kate it's Josh"

"Oh hey Josh. What's up?"

"Well I thought I would check and see if you would want to meet up for dinner? And then possibly meet up at my apartment for a movie or something?"

"Sorry Josh, I can't tonight." Beckett says as she walks into the lobby of the hospital.

"Why not? We haven't seen each other in over two weeks. Is there something you aren't telling me?" In a tone that's making it sound like the _something_ would be a _someone_. Technically it's true but not in the sense he is implying.

Beckett notices the change in his voice and anger rises in her. "Not tonight." she repeated in a harsh tone, "My partner got shot last night so I probably won't be available for awhile." She tells him.

"What? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Do you need me to come over there?"

"No I'm alright. I'll talk to you later OK?"

"OK Kate. Talk to you later." Josh says and hangs up.

Beckett walks over to the elevators and heads up to Castle's room in the VIP ICU ward. Outside his room is a uniformed officer who nods at her as she walks by and enters Castle's room. Inside is Martha and Alexis chatting quietly on either side of a still comatose Castle.

"Any change?" She asks as she walks over to Alexis and gives her a hug.

"Actually yes!" Alexis says happily. "My dad moved a little and the doctor says that he may be coming out of the coma soon!"

Beckett smiles and says "That's great!"

Alexis smiles and hugs Beckett again. "Do you want to come over for dinner when we leave? I'm cooking for me and Gram." Alexis asks looking up at Beckett. Kate looks over at Martha who smiles.

"Alright" Kate says, also remembering the food Alexis made when she was living at the loft after her apartment blew up.

"Great!" Alexis says happily. "What would you like me to make? I was thinking about lasagna but if you want something else?"

"Lasagna is perfectly fine." Beckett says.

Soon after that the three women start talking happily and then before they knew it visiting hours were over so they packed up their things and headed over to Castle's castle.

Hope you like it! :)


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites! It's nice checking my email and seeing a lot from for this story. Thank you!

How Close Chapter 5

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Esposito and Ryan had checked out Tyson's family members and they found out that he was really close to his sister, by the name of Carol Cote, and they were on their way to her house.

"Ms Cote, when was the last time you saw your brother?" Ryan asked when they were seated in her living room.

"Jerry? Last I heard he's in jail. I haven't seen him since he went in."

"Have you heard from him in the last few weeks?" Esposito asked.

"Yeah, a letter or two here and there, but never a phone call."

Ryan and Esposito looked at each other. "I thought you two were close?"

"He liked to think we were. But his ideas were too crazy for me."

"What were-" Esposito was cut off by a crash in the next room.

Ryan and Esposito went over to the door and pushed it open, inside the kitchen was broken glass and and open door. They go to the door and look out and catch sight of none other than JerryTyson "Police! Freeze!" Esposito yelled.

Esposito and Ryan take off out the door after Tyson. They chase him down an alley and Tyson turns around briefly, and fires Ryan's old gun at them. Esposito and Ryan dive for cover and pull out their own guns, then resumes the chase.

After briefly checking if the coast was clear, both the detectives open fire on Tyson. One of the bullets grazes his arm, but he doesn't falter and continues running. Turning a corner Ryan and Esposito find themselves on a very crowded sidewalk. They don't see Tyson anywhere, "Shit" Esposito says.

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Beckett is at the precinct looking at the murder board when a worn out Ryan and Esposito show up.

"Hey guys, how did it go with the sister?" She asks when they approach her.

"Not good. We were talking to her and then we hear a crash in the next room. Guess who was there?" Esposito says.

"Who?"

"Tyson." Ryan says, and then braces himself for the explosion.

"WHAT? He actually was there? Where is he? Did you catch him?"

"He was there and when we saw him I yelled at him to freeze, but continued running away. We chase after him and he opens fire at us. We were able to wound him but not enough for him to slow down or anything, and we lost him on a crowded sidewalk." Esposito says. He then goes on to say what happened at the sister's before they found Tyson.

Beckett takes a deep breath after taking all of that in. "OK set up lookouts at all the hospitals in the city. He's wounded so he is most likely going to get some help." Ryan nods and says "Already did."

Beckett slightly smiles and then says "Also get an undercover to stake out the sister's house. It's unlikely, but he might go back there again. And if he does show up, we got him. I want to keep an eye on her as well. She might want to go out and meet up with her brother once she figures her house is unsafe for him."

The guys nod and then go over to their desks to set up the under covers.

* * *

"Hey Kate" Beckett hears a voice say and she looks up from her desk. Standing nearby was Josh.

"Josh, what are you doing here?" Beckett says, surprised.

"I was just on break and thought I'd stop by and see you, and perhaps take you out to lunch." He says.

"Sorry Josh, I can't, I'm in the middle of the case and can't leave at the moment. We finally had a breakthrough and we need to continue working on it."

"You can't leave for a half hour to go get something to eat?" Josh says.

"Josh!" Beckett says, getting the attention of Ryan and Esposito, "I am trying to find the guy who has murdered countless people, knocked out and robbed one of my detectives, and also almost murdered my partner! But since that's a concept you can't seem to wrap your head around, then you got _no_ place here!"

"What are you saying Kate?"

"I'm saying we are done."

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Another chapter completed! Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! :D Virtual cookies go to those who notice the Firefly reference. :)

Also I am going to change around chapter 4 a little. I will post a notification in the sixth chapter when I have it changed.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks again for all the reviews, alerts and faves! They make my day :)

The Firefly reference in the previous chapter was when Beckett was yelling at Josh. "But since that's a concept you can't seem to wrap your head around then you got no place here!" Was a line said by Mal to Jayne in the episode "Ariel"

Chapter 4 is updated and uploaded :)

How Close Chapter 6

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As Beckett leaves the precinct, Esposito and Ryan both gave her looks of concern, but she gently smiled at them and told them without words that she was OK.

After her break off with Josh, Beckett decides to go over to the hospital and visit Castle. She decides that she needs a place where there is quiet and no one is talking behind her back about what they just witnessed.

* * *

She enters Castle's hospital room and finds Alexis sitting by her father's bedside, holding his hand. "Hey Alexis." Beckett says. Alexis looks up and sees Beckett walking towards her. "Hi Detective Beckett. How are you?" She asks.

"I'm doing alright, how about you?" Beckett says walking over to her and giving her a hug.

"I'm doing OK, all things considered."

Beckett nods and then says "How is he doing?"

"There hasn't been any change, really. He's been in a coma for almost a week, and the doctors had said he was going to wake up soon, but he hasn't. Do you think he's going to wake up?" She asks hopefully.

"I don't know, I hope so." Beckett says to the young redhead, as she walks over to the other side of the bed. After sitting in silence for a few minutes, Alexis notices a strange look on Kate's face and she asks, "Are you sure you're OK, Detective?"

"Yeah, I just broke up with Josh, the guy I was seeing, before I came here."

"Oh wow, are you OK?"

"Yeah it's just, he was a great guy and all, and now that I think about it, I hate that I hurt him."

"Why did you break up with him?"

"He was becoming really pushy about me getting away from the case, not giving me my space and learning to back off. He had gotten jealous about me coming here rather than spending time with him. It's just isn't really what I'm looking for right now."

After that they smooth into comfortable silence as they stare at the comatose man between them.

After a moment, Kate looks around the room and then asks, "Where has Gina been? I thought I would see her around here?"

"My dad didn't tell you?" Alexis says, and when Beckett gave her a look of confusion, she continued. "They broke up two weeks ago. My dad finally remembered the reason why they divorced." Alexis says shaking her head.

"What? No he didn't say a word to me..." Beckett said.

"That's weird." Alexis says standing up. "I'm going to go take a walk outside, get some fresh air. I'll be back in a little bit."

Beckett nods and watches the youngest Castle leave the room, then she looks back at the oldest Castle, still lying on the bed.

"When are you going to wake up Castle?" She asks him looking up at his face. "It's not the same without you around. It's almost gone back to the way it was before you arrived, and took the precinct by storm." Beckett chuckles and looks down at his hand and grasping it. "I don't think Ryan and Esposito are going to last much longer without talking to you." She pauses, "Neither am I. I've told you before that you pull my pigtails and make my job more fun, but you also make my life more fun, out of the precinct. I tried to tell you before you left for the Hampton's that I have more than just friendly feelings for you, Castle. And I want to try to have a relationship with you, but I can't if you don't wake up. You need to wake up, Castle."

At the last sentence she looks up at his face and sees two blue orbs staring back at her, and a face sporting a grin from ear to ear.

* * *

So he's awake now! What do you guys think?


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